It was scary enough to cause some insane dreams yet featured enough comedy to ease the tension. Audiences and those who appreciate well-balanced tone, good character chemistry, and amazing special effects will enjoy It even more.

For those who live under a rock and have not seen the opening scene from the original It, this debut film by Andres Muschietti starts similarly with two brothers, Bill (Jaeden Lieberher) and Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott) Denbrough, making a paper sailboat during a rainstorm to float down the street. Georgie follows the boat as it travels but loses it in a storm drain and stops to look inside. He is immediately introduced to the creature of the sewers, Pennywise the Dancing Clown. The clown entertains Georgie for a few seconds before, well, bad things happen.

After the death of Georgie, Bill and his friends, called the Losers Club, go on a quest to find Georgie and take down the town killer. The Losers Club consists of Richie Tozier (Finn Wolfhard), a loud mouth comic with a joke for any occasion, Beverley Marsh (Sophie Lillis), the skeptical tough girl, Ben Hanscom (Jeremy Taylor), the helpless romantic, Eddie Kaspbrak (Jack Dylan Grazer), the sensitive germaphobe, Stanley Uris (Wyatt Oleff), the shy son of a Rabbi, and Bill, the brave leader.

The chemistry of the actors as a whole was stellar. These kids were very close to each other, even off set. Starring cast members said in an interview that they became friends months before shooting and continued to be friends after. This made their quest in the film so much more entertaining.

The two brothers are great, but the two characters Richie and Eddie in particular are a load of fun. Richie is a jokester who always seems to have a sly thought in mind no matter the situation. These two go back and forth with silly, yet incredibly funny, banter that acts as a way for the audience to relate to the friends. The performances in film added emotional weight and entertaining character chemistry.

Cinematically, it’s all about tone…tone tone tone, and Muchietti nailed it. IT is the perfect balance of horror and humor.

Sure, there is horrifically horrific horror in the movie, but it’s offset with a healthy amount of humor.  For example, Wolfhard and Grazer were not only chosen for their overall great acting skills, but even more specifically because of their ability to be funny. Moments of tension are broken with humor. Due to the young age of these kids, they may not know how to deal with the stress of being scared by Pennywise, so they channel it with comedy which works so well in succession with fear.

There was also a great deal of fear thanks in part to the special effects. Pennywise looked terrifying.

Every single “monster” portrayed in the film was insanely realistic. There is a scene when Pennywise emerges from a fridge looking all contorted and twisted up. Upon exiting, his body begins to untwist and take human form until he is normal looking, well not normal, but boy was it impressive.

I highly, highly recommend to go see this as it is the better, more frightening remake of a classic. For movie goers who like character chemistry, perfect tone, and amazing special effects, this is the film to watch.  Farewell, and as Penny himself would say, Beep Beep.